The Caledonian Canal and Loch Ness by hire cruiser.
Inverness to the foot of Ben Nevis through Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy, with keepers working every lock. Where to hire, how far you'll get, and the Loch Ness rules. Every figure is linked to its source.
- Hire bases
- 2
- from 2 firms
- On Mooch
- 1
- with a trip page
- Boats sleep
- up to 8
- largest boat listed
- Week, 4-berth
- £1,070–£1,801
- 1 of 2 firms publish a price
Closed to through traffic from 4pm on 1 November 2026 until 9am on 24 March 2027, with local movements only by arrangement. Hire boats on the canal run from April to October. Source
At a glance
- Length
- 60 miles · source
- Locks
- 29 · source
- Lock work
- Light (0.5 locks per mile)
- Hire bases
- 2
- Status
- Closed for winter until 9am, 24 March 2027 · source
- Locks worked by
- Scottish Canals keepers, not your crew · source
- Hire route
- Inverness to the top of Neptune's Staircase: 12 locks and 6 bridges each way · source
- Lochs
- 38 of the 60 miles are lochs: Ness, Oich and Lochy · source
- Hire season
- April to October · source
Good for
- Keepers work every lock and bridge, so there's no lock work for the crew
- Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle and the Fort Augustus flight on one route
- No licence or boating experience needed with either hire firm
- Views of Ben Nevis from Gairlochy at the western end
Watch out for
- Closed in winter: hire boats run April to October only
- Loch Ness can be rough, and boats must keep 300 metres off the shore
- Hire boats turn at the top of Neptune's Staircase, so Fort William is by bus or taxi
- Only two hire firms, and no one-way hires
Lock work is locks per mile across the whole canal: under 0.6 light, under 1 moderate, 1 or more heavy.
The short answer
Le Boat's 3-night return goes up and back down the five-lock flight at Fort Augustus, then out on Loch Lochy: 34 km and 8 locks, about 7.5 hours of cruising.
Le Boat says Loch Ness needs a cruise of four nights or longer from Laggan, about 3 hours away. From Inverness, Caley Cruisers' boats are usually on the loch on day one.
Caley Cruisers' full return runs from Inverness to the top of Neptune's Staircase and back: about 60 miles and 12 locks each way, and a week is the minimum.
The hire route, north-east to south-west
Thomas Telford's canal links the lochs of the Great Glen. Hire boats cruise between Muirtown Locks in Inverness and the top of Neptune's Staircase at Banavie; the sea locks at either end are for other craft.
- 1
Inverness
Caley Cruisers' boatyard is on Canal Road, near the north-east entrance. Charters turn at Muirtown Locks rather than going down to the sea.
- 2
Tomnahurich and Torvean
Two swing bridges carrying the A82. They close to boats from 12:00 to 13:15.
- 3
Dochgarroch Lock
The first lock, about an hour from the boatyard, with toilets, showers and shore power. In rough weather it's the fallback stop for the first night.
- 4
Loch Ness
23 miles long and up to a mile wide by Caley's figures, about 4 hours end to end. Boats keep 300 metres off the shore.
- 5
Urquhart Bay and Drumnadrochit
The usual first-night stop from Inverness, in a sheltered harbour near Urquhart Castle.
- 6
Foyers
A day stop only: two hours at most, in good weather, with permission. Very exposed to north-easterly winds.
- 7
Fort Augustus
A flight of five locks through the middle of the village. Allow 1 to 1.5 hours, longer with waiting.
- 8
Kytra and Cullochy
Two quiet single locks between Fort Augustus and Loch Oich.
- 9
Loch Oich
The summit of the canal at 106ft. It's shallow, so keep to the buoyed channel. Pontoons at Invergarry Castle and the Well of the Seven Heads.
- 10
Laggan Locks
A pair of locks down to Loch Lochy, and Le Boat's only base on the canal.
- 11
Loch Lochy
About 10 miles, roughly 2 hours to Gairlochy, with no stopping points on the way.
- 12
Gairlochy and Moy
Two locks and a swing bridge at Gairlochy, with views of Ben Nevis, then the hand-opened Moy swing bridge.
- 13
Banavie
The end of the hire route, at the top of Neptune's Staircase: 8 locks dropping 64ft. Hire cruisers don't go down it. Fort William is about 3 miles away.
Sources: Caley Cruisers, Caley Cruisers, typical itinerary, Caley Cruisers, Loch Ness, Caley Cruisers navigation chart, Caley Cruisers, Banavie, Wikipedia, Wikipedia: Neptune's Staircase
Published routes
Round trips published by the two hire firms. Le Boat measures in kilometres and Caley Cruisers in miles. Hours are cruising time, where the firm gives them. Neither firm offers one-way hires.
| Round trip | Distance | Locks | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Boat, Laggan to Fort Augustus and back, then Loch Lochy (3 nights)Le Boat, 3-night Laggan return | 34 km | 8 | 7.5 |
| Le Boat, Laggan via Banavie, Gairlochy and Fort Augustus (3 nights)Le Boat | 65 km | 12 | 13 |
| Le Boat, Laggan to Inverness and Banavie and back (7 nights)(Le Boat's route card says 193 km and 24 locks)Le Boat | 186 km | 10 | — |
| Caley Cruisers, Inverness to Banavie and back (7 nights)Caley Cruisers | about 120 miles | 24 | — |
Source: Le Boat
When to go
When the hire firms here run, when their prices peak, and when the canal shuts for winter works. Each row is from the firm's or the navigation authority's own page.
Paler blocks cover part of the month.
Caledonian Canal weather by month
At Nairn, the warmest month is July (average high 18.8°C), the wettest is October (70.1 mm) and the sunniest is May (186 hours). It gets about 651 mm of rain a year.
°C, average daily low to high; the number is the high
mm a month
hours a month
Show the numbers
| Month | High °C | Low °C | Frost days | Rain mm | Sun hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6.9 | 0.9 | 10.6 | 48.2 | 49.1 |
| Feb | 7.5 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 43.6 | 71.9 |
| Mar | 9.4 | 2.2 | 6.8 | 40.6 | 105.4 |
| Apr | 11.9 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 43.2 | 138.0 |
| May | 14.3 | 5.8 | 0.8 | 50.8 | 185.5 |
| Jun | 16.6 | 8.8 | 0.0 | 58.1 | 148.2 |
| Jul | 18.8 | 10.8 | 0.0 | 57.7 | 148.9 |
| Aug | 18.6 | 10.6 | 0.0 | 64.9 | 144.7 |
| Sep | 16.2 | 8.7 | 0.1 | 59.5 | 114.6 |
| Oct | 12.9 | 5.9 | 1.3 | 70.1 | 83.1 |
| Nov | 9.6 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 56.3 | 57.7 |
| Dec | 6.8 | 0.5 | 12.3 | 57.9 | 36.4 |
Station: Nairn, near the Inverness end: about 27 km from Inverness but 116 km from Fort William, so it says little about the west end. Averages of the monthly figures for 1991–2020, 21 to 24 years per month (the record has gaps), worked out by Mooch from the Met Office historic station data, Nairn (Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). They are not the Met Office's official climate averages.
Where to hire
2 hire bases from 2 firms, side by side. Filter by what matters to you; each row comes from the firm's own pages, read 4–7 November 2026. For fleet sizes and first-timer help, see each firm in narrowboat hire, compared.
Showing 2 of 2 bases
| Firm and base | Sleeps | Dogs | Fuel included | Short breaks | Week, 4-berth | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Le Boat (UK) Laggan Le Boat's only base on the canal, at Laggan Locks between Loch Oich and Loch Lochy. Loch Ness is about 3 hours away. | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Not published | See it on Mooch Compare |
Caley Cruisers Inverness Caley Cruisers, at the Inverness end. Boats are usually on Loch Ness on the first day. | 2–8 | Most boats; £60 per pet per week. | No | Yes | £1,070–£1,801 | Website Compare |
Worth knowing before you go
Keep 300 metres off the Loch Ness shore
Caley Cruisers' chart says so for Loch Ness and Loch Lochy. Source
Book Urquhart Castle in advance
The hire-boat pontoon is booked and paid for online. No overnight stays, and don't berth there in a north-easterly wind. Source
Weather can hold you at Dochgarroch
Rough weather on Loch Ness can keep boats at Dochgarroch on the first night, before the loch. Source
Locks and bridges keep office hours
Spring and autumn 9:00 to 17:30, summer 8:30 to 18:00. Some road bridges won't open at rush hour in Inverness, Fort Augustus and Banavie. Source
Moor up before dark
Scottish Canals says not to cruise after dark; Caley wants you berthed at least an hour before sunset. Source
Big boats have right of way
Commercial vessels use the canal, and smaller craft may be held for short periods to let them through. Source
Wear the life jacket
Caley recommends wearing one whenever you're locking, berthing or on deck, because the water is extremely cold. Source
Questions
Can you hire a boat on Loch Ness?
Yes. Caley Cruisers hires from Inverness and Le Boat from Laggan, from April to October. Neither needs a licence or previous experience, and both give you a handover before you set off.
Do you have to work the locks on the Caledonian Canal?
No. Scottish Canals keepers operate every lock and bridge, during set opening hours.
Can you take a hire boat to Fort William?
Not by water. Hire cruisers turn at the top of Neptune's Staircase in Banavie, about 3 miles from Fort William; Le Boat's week-long itinerary suggests a bus or taxi from there.
How long does it take to cruise the Caledonian Canal?
Caley Cruisers puts it at around three days end to end. Their full return from Inverness to Banavie and back needs at least a week.
Is the Caledonian Canal open in winter?
No. It closed at 4pm on 1 November 2026 and reopens at 9am on 24 March 2027, and both hire firms run from April to October.
Can you do a one-way trip?
No. Caley Cruisers says one-way cruises aren't possible, and Laggan is Le Boat's only base on the canal, so every hire is a return trip.
More canal guides
How this was put together
Figures come from the Canal & River Trust, the hire firms' own pages and Wikipedia, read on 4 November 2026, and each is linked where it's used. Lock hours and closures change, so check the Scottish Canals skipper's guide before you travel. Spotted something wrong? Email hello@moochtravel.com.